THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT, 1983 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Payments to Bank. 
4.  Reserve Bank to be depository for Bank. 
5.  Conferment of status and certain immunities, exemptions and privileges on Bank and conferment 

of certain immunities, exemptions and privileges on its officers and employees. 

6.  Power to make rules. 
7.  Notifications issued under section 5 and rules made under section 6 to be laid before Parliament. 

THE SCHEDULE 

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THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT, 1983 

ACT NO.13 OF 1983 

[26th May, 1983.] 

An  Act  to  implement  the  international  agreement  for  the  establishment  and  operation  of  the 

African Development Bank and for matters concerned therewith. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 
1.  Short title,  extent  and commencement.—(1) This  Act  may  be  called the  African  Development 

Bank Act, 1983. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 
(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date1  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 

Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “Agreement” means the agreement for the establishment of the African Development Bank; 
(b) “Bank” means the African Development Bank established under the Agreement. 

3.  Payments  to  Bank.—(1)  There  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund  of  India,  after  due 
appropriation  made  by  Parliament  by  law  in  this  behalf,  all  such  sums  as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be 
required for the purpose of paying,— 

(a) the subscriptions payable by the Central Government to the Bank under Articles 6, 7, 10 and 

21 of the Agreement; 

(b) any sums payable by the Central Government to the Bank under Article 28 of the Agreement; 
(2) The Central Government may, if it thinks fit so to do, create and issue to the Bank, in such form as 

it thinks fit, any non-interest bearing and non-negotiable notes or other obligations. 

4. Reserve Bank to be depository for Bank.—The Reserve Bank of India shall be the depository of 

the Indian currency holdings of the Bank. 

5.  Conferment  of  status  and  certain  immunities,  exemptions  and  privileges  on  Bank  and 

conferment  of  certain 
employees.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law, the provisions of 
the Agreement set out in the Schedule shall have the force of law in India; 

exemptions  and  privileges  on 

immunities, 

its  officers  and                    

Provided that nothing in Article 57 of the Agreement shall be construed as— 

(a)  entitling  the  Bank  to  import  into  India  goods  free  of  any  duty  of  customs  without  any 

restriction on their subsequent sale therein; or 

(b) conferring on the Bank any exemption from duties or taxes which form part of the price of 

goods sold; or 

(c)  conferring  on  the  Bank  any  exemption  from  duties  or  taxes  which  are in fact  no  more than 

charges for services rendered. 

(2)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  amend  the  Schedule  in 
conformity  with  any  amendments,  duly  made  and  adopted,  of  the  provisions  of  the  Agreement  set  out 
therein. 

6.  Power  to  make  rules.—The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette, 

make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

7.  Notifications  issued  under  section  5  and  rules  made  under  section  6  to  be  laid  before 
Parliament.—Every  notification  issued  under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  5  and  every  rule  made  under 
section  6  shall  be  laid,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  it  is  issued  or  made,  before  each  of  the  House  of 
Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session 

1. 15th December, 1983, vide notification No. G.S.R. 889(E), dated 14th December, 1983, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 

Part II, sec. 3(i). 

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or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the 
session  or  the  successive  sessions  aforesaid,  both  Houses  agree  in  making  any  modification  in  the 
notification or, as the case may be, in the rule or both Houses agree that the notification or rule should not 
be issued or made, the notification or rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of 
no  effect,  as  the  case  may  be;  so,  however,  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without 
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that notification or rule. 

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THE SCHEDULE 

(See section 5) 

PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT WHICH SHALL HAVE FORCE OF LAW 

AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 

CHAPTER VII 

STATUS IMMUNITIES, EXEMPTIONS AND PRIVILEGES 

ARTICLE 50 

STATUS 

To enable it to fulfil its purpose and the functions with which it is entrusted, the Bank shall possess 
full  international  personality. To  those  ends,  it  may  enter  into  agreements  with  members,  non-member 
States  and  other  international  organisations. To  the  same  ends,  the  status,  immunities,  exemptions  and 
privileges set forth in this Chapter shall be accorded to the Bank in the territory of each member. 

ARTICLE 51 

STATUS IN MEMBER COUNTRIES 

In the territory of each member the Bank shall possess full judicial personality and, in particular, full 

capacity: 

(a) to contract 

(b) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property; and 

(c) to institute legal proceedings. 

ARTICLE 52 

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 

1. The Bank shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except in cases arising out of the 
exercise  of  its  borrowing  powers  when  it  may  be  sued  only  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  the 
territory  of  a  member  in  which  the  Bank  has  its  principal  office,  or  in  the  territory  of  a  member  or              
non-member  State  where  it  has  appointed  an  agent  for  the  purpose  of  accepting  service  or  notice  of 
process  or  has  issued  or  guaranteed  securities. No  actions  shall,  however,  be  brought  by  members  or 
persons acting for or deriving claims from members. 

2. The property and assets of the Bank shall, wherever located and by whomsoever held, be immune 
from all forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the delivery of final judgment against the Bank. 

ARTICLE 53 

IMMUNITY OF ASSETS AND ARCHIVES 

1. Property and assets of the Bank, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from 
search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of taking or foreclosure by executive or 
legislative action. 

2. The  archives  of  the  Bank  and,  in  general,  all  documents  belonging  to  it,  or  held  by  it,  shall  be 

inviolable, wherever located. 

ARTICLE 54 

FREEDOM OF ASSETS FROM RESTRICTION 

To  the  extent  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purpose  and  functions  of  the  Bank  and  subject  to  the 
provisions of this Agreement, all property and other assets of the Bank shall be exempt from restrictions, 
regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature. 

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ARTICLE 55 

PRIVILEGE FOR COMMUNICATIONS 

Official  communications of  the  Bank  shall  be accorded  by  each  member  the  same  treatment that  it 

accords to the official communications of other members. 

ARTICLE 56 

PERSONAL IMMUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES 

1. All governors, directors, alternates, officers and employees of the Bank and experts and consultants 

performing missions for the Bank; 

(i)  shall  be immune  from  legal  process  with  respect  to  acts  performed  by  them  in  their  official 

capacity; 

(ii) where they are not local nationals, shall be accorded the same immunities from immigration 
restrictions, alien registration requirements and national service obligations, and the same facilities as 
regards  exchange  regulations  as  are  accorded  by  members  to  the  representatives,  officials  and 
employees of comparable rank of other members; and 

(iii)  shall  be  granted  the  same  treatment  in  respect  of  travelling  facilities  as  is  accorded  by 

members to representatives, officials and employees of comparable rank of other members. 

2. Experts and consultants performing missions for the Bank shall be accorded such immunities and 
privileges  as  are,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Bank,  necessary  for  the  independent  exercise  of  their  functions 
during the period of their mission, including the time spent on journeys in connection therewith. 

ARTICLE 57 

EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION 

1. The  Bank,  its  property,  other  assets,  income  and  its  operations  and  transactions  shall  be  exempt 
from all taxation and from all customs duties. The Bank shall also be exempt from any obligation relating 
to the payment, withholding or collection of any tax or duty. 

2. No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Bank, to directors, 

alternates, officers and other professional staff of the Bank. 

3. No tax of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security issued by the Bank, including any 

dividend or interest thereon, by whomsoever held: 

(i) which discriminates against such obligation or security solely because it is issued by the Bank; 

or 

(ii) if the sole jurisdictional basis for such taxation is the place or currency in which it is issued, 

made payable or paid, or the location of any office or place of business maintained by the Bank. 

4. No tax of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security guaranteed by the Bank, including 

any dividend or interest thereon, by whomsoever held: 

(i) which discriminates against such obligation or security solely because it is guaranteed by the 

Bank; or 

(ii)  if  the  sole  jurisdictional  basis  for  such  taxation  is  the  location  of  any  office  or  place  of 

business maintained by the Bank. 

ARTICLE 58 

NOTIFICATION OF IMPLEMENTATION 

Each  member  shall  promptly  inform  the  Bank  of  the  specific  action  which  it  has  taken  to  make 

effective in its territory the provisions of this Chapter. 

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ARTICLE 59 

APPLICATION OF IMMUNITIES, EXEMPTIONS AND PRIVILEGES 

The immunities, exemptions and privileges provided in this Chapter are granted in the interests of the 
Bank. The Board of Directors may waive, to such extent and upon such conditions as it may determine, 
the immunities and exemptions provided in Articles 52, 54, 56 and 57 of this Agreement in cases where 
its action would in its opinion further the interests of the Bank. The President shall have the right and the 
duty to waive the immunity of any official in cases where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the 
course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Bank. 

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